Most researchers agree that the name BARNEY came from the small
town of Berney (pronounced "Barney," and usually spelled Barney today) in
Norfolk Co., England. Many have said the name is Norman, possibly derived from
the norse BJARNE, meaning "Bear".

The earliest BARNEY Coat of Arms, shown left, was found on a handwritten
heraldic pedigree of the Bernye family of Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, England,
dating back to about 1100 A.D. to Sir Henry de Bernye, Knight, the son of Roger
de Barnye of Norfolk County. Roger de Barnye, or perhaps his father, is
presumed to have accompanied Duke William of Normandy when the Duke met
King Harold at a well-known social gathering on a broad field near Hastings in
1066.

The Berney/Barney family of Norfolk eventually became one of the wealthiest
families in England. Sir Thomas de Berney, Knight, married Margaret, daughter
and heir of William de Reedham, by whom he acquired, with other lands, the
Manor of Reedham, whither he moved from Witchingham in the time of Edward III.
His descendant, Henry Berney removed the old seat of the family, which stood
near Reedham Church, into the Park in Reedham, where he erected a
magnificent mansion, and called it "Park Hall, in Reedham." His eldest son, Sir
Thomas Berney, Knight, was the Sheriff of Norfolk in the 7th year of the reign of
James I. His son, Sir Richard Berney, High Sheriff of Norfolk in 1622, was
created a Baronet on May 5, 1620. His descendant, Sir Thomas Reedham
Berney, is the 10th Baronet.

The first Barney to arrive in the new world was Jacob Barney Sr., who sailed
from England in about 1630, and became a very prominent member of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony at Salem. He was a Selectman on the Salem Town
Council for many terms, and also a Deputy to the Massachusetts General Court
during his public career which spanned several decades. He was one of the
judges at the trial of Roger Williams, who later was the founder of the new colony
of Rhode Island. We believe that Jacob Barney was the son of Edward Barney of
Bradenham, Buckinghamshire.

In 1694, a 14-year-old boy named William Barney arrived in Baltimore; he is said
to have been sent from England by his Uncle and guardian. From what place he
came, as well as his parentage, is yet to be established. He married into a
prominent family, and became a wealthy landowner at an early age. His grandson
was the famous Commodore Joshua Barney, naval hero of the Revolutionary War
and the War of 1812.

In researching the genealogy of the Barney family in America, another -- so far
unconnected -- Barney family was found in New England. Thomas and Daniel
Barney are discovered as adults in Concord, Massachusetts by 1690; their origin
is unknown, but they are probably great-grandchildren of the first Jacob Barney of
Salem. There are descendants of several other Barney progenitors also -- some
from Canada (originally the French name Bernier), some from Ireland, some from
Germany, and others from England